The Joy is in the Journey

The family and I started on a new adventure yesterday. We went on a sort of treasure hunt, geocaching, also known as letterboxing, and we had a really good time. But as usual, it's got me thinking....

The Bible says in Matthew 7:7, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."

This isn't a magic formula. It's not even what I would call "Kingdom math." Maybe it's more like "Kingdom Algebra," it holds truth, but the route to getting there is a little more circular than the classic "if/then" addition.

I see in this passage a progression of prayer and seeking God. So many of us set out on the path and sit ourselves on a stone just past "ask" and wonder why God hasn't responded quickly enough or in the manner we expected or hoped for.

So back to our family treasure hunt. We found out about this whole secret world called "Letterboxing." It's a wonderful little adventure, where there are clues to follow and treasures to be found.

As I think about our day yesterday on our Letterboxing quest, I see a similar progression as the one described in Matthew 7:7.

ASK. I discovered the adventure was out there, I shared it with my family, asked them to join me on it and we got our tools together and headed out. It was a good start, but it wasn't enough.

This reminds me of our initial seeking of God. We invite Him into our lives, we get into a church, get our bibles and learn to pray, but we can't stop there.

SEEK. We had to take our clues, and see where they would lead us. Some of them were simple and direct, but some of them required a lot of thought and attention, we had to move forward where the clues would lead us, purpose to follow the path set for us. We had to make a few u-turns along the path, sometimes go back to the last place we knew we were where we belonged and begin again from there.

When we become believers, it isn't enough to have the Bible, we have to dive into it, learn more about the Lord, find out who He is, what His plan is for us, as a whole and an individual. Somethings are very clear, simple instructions to follow (Kingdom math) and some are more complicated, we must by trial and error (Isaiah 1:18, Philippians 2:12), viz. Kingdom Algebra. Sometimes u-turns are required in our spiritual walks, and sometimes we have to go back to the last place we knew the Lord was speaking and begin again.

KNOCK. Even when we got to the proper location where the clues led on our adventure, the payoff didn't come till we got down on our knees and dug out the treasure. We had to put ourselves out there. It wasn't enough to arrive at the end of the line, we wanted the treasure in hand so we had to completely commit to the adventure.

This holds true in our walk with the Lord. It isn't enough to be "where" you know you're supposed to be. You have to completely commit yourself to it, in surrendered heart, willing attitude, and by not being willing to give up until the treasure is found, till you know you are where the Lord wants you to be, and doing what He wants you to do.

I am excited about this new family adventure that we are sharing. And I look forward to sharing this lesson with my children. I'm happy to have discovered this fun way to share the Truth with my kiddos.

Another parallel I discovered was this. As great as it was to get to the treasure, the road to discovery was so amazing. It was the relationship, and experiences along the way that made the trip most memorable. I think that's true in our walk with the Lord as well. The joy is in the journey.

I'm excited because there are lots more treasures out there to be found, more experiences, more adventures, more challenges and victories... in Letterboxing, and in the Walk of Faith.